Conondale is a rural town and

locality Locality may refer to: * Locality, a historical named location or place in Canada * Locality (association), an association of community regeneration organizations in England * Locality (linguistics) * Locality (settlement) * Suburbs and localitie ...

in the

Sunshine Coast Region The Sunshine Coast Region is a local government area located in the Sunshine Coast region of South East Queensland, Australia, from which it takes its name. It was created by the amalgamation in 2008 of the City of Caloundra and the Shires o ...

Queensland Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...

, Australia. In the , the locality of Conondale had a population of 882 people.

Geography

The town is in the Sunshine Coast hinterland area. The town is located on the banks of the upper Mary River, north of the state capital,

Brisbane Brisbane ( ; ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the States and territories of Australia, state of Queensland and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia, with a ...

History

On 6 October 1851, pastoralist Donald Tuach McKenzie took up a pastoral run, which he named Conondale after hist birthplace on the Conon River in

Ross and Cromarty Ross and Cromarty (), is an area in the Highlands and Islands of Scotland. In modern usage, it is a registration county and a Lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area. Between 1889 and 1975 it was a Shires of Scotland, county. Historical ...

, Scotland. The town takes its name from the pastoral run. In November 1906, a sub-division of the former Conondale Station, the Conondale Estate, described as 14,000 acres in one of the best agricultural and dairying districts in the Commonwealth, was advertised for sale. The auctioneers offered to forward an illustrated lithograph to any address. As a new departure in the sub-division of estates, a butter factory was built by the vendors as part of the sale. However, the butter factory never operated and the building was later demolished, with the timbers used for the construction of a house at Moffat Beach. Conondale Provisional School and Flagstone Creek Provisional Schools opened in September 1912, both on a half-time basis, meaning that a single teacher was shared between the two schools. In 1913, Flagstone Creek Provisional School was renamed Conondale South Provisional School. In 1915, Conondale South Provisional School was closed and Conondale Provisional School continued with the teacher on a full-time basis. It experienced occasional closures due to lack of students or unavailability of a teacher. In 1933, it became Conondale State School. In 1919, the Landsborough Shire Council decided to set aside of land as a memorial park in Conondale, but later decided on a larger more convenient site, which was officially opened on 3 March 1928. Conondale Post Office opened by 1949 (a

receiving office A post office is a public facility and a retailer that provides mail services, such as accepting letters and parcels, providing post office boxes, and selling postage stamps, packaging, and stationery. Post offices may offer additional serv ...

or Telegraph office had been open from 1904) and closed in 1974.

Demographics

In the , the locality of Conondale had a population of 858 people. In the , the locality of Conondale had a population of 882 people.

Heritage listings

Conondale has a number of

heritage-listed This list is of heritage registers, inventories of cultural properties, natural and human-made, tangible and intangible, movable and immovable, that are deemed to be of sufficient heritage value to be separately identified and recorded. In ma ...

sites, including: * Conondale Timbers Sawmill, Aherns Road

Education

Conondale State School is a government primary (Prep-6) school for boys and girls at 1700 Maleny-Kenilworth Road (). In 2017, the school had an enrolment of 92 students with 10 teachers (6 full-time equivalent) and 10 non-teaching staff (5 full-time equivalent). It includes a

special education Special education (also known as special-needs education, aided education, alternative provision, exceptional student education, special ed., SDC, and SPED) is the practice of educating students in a way that accommodates their individual di ...

program.

Amenities

The

Sunshine Coast Regional Council The Sunshine Coast Region is a Local government in Australia, local government area located in the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Sunshine Coast region of South East Queensland, Australia, from which it takes its name. It was created by the amalg ...

operates a

mobile library A bookmobile, or mobile library, is a vehicle designed for use as a library. They have been known by many names throughout history, including traveling library, library wagon, book wagon, book truck, library-on-wheels, and book auto service. Boo ...

service which visits the school on Maleny-Kenilworth Road. Despite the name, Conondale Memorial Recreation Park (but known locally at Green Park) is at 1156 Maleny Kenilworth Road, now within the present-day boundaries of neighbouring Elaman Creek. It features a motocross circuit used by the Sunshine Coast Motorcycle Club for both local and wider competitions.

Crystal Waters ecovillage

Conondale is home to the Crystal Waters

ecovillage An ecovillage is a traditional or intentional community that aims to become more socially, culturally, economically and/or environmentally sustainable. An ecovillage strives to have the least possible negative impact on the natural environment ...

which provides accommodation for 200 residents. It was established formally in 1987 making it one of the first in Australia.

References

External links

*
Town map of Conondale, 1983
{{authority control Towns in Queensland Suburbs of the Sunshine Coast Region Localities in Queensland